Bronze Age and Umm An Nar (Group 1)

bronze age and

Umm an nar

start

index

1. Bronze age

7. Trade

2. Bronze age in the UAE

8. Location

3. Bronze Eras

9. Timeline

4. Drying climate

10. Boats of the Magan

5. Umm An Nar

11. Thanks

6. Umm an Nar tombs

Bronze Age

The Bronze Age lasted 3,300 to 1,200 BCE with its key difference being the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the primary hard materials used in the manufacture of tools and weapons throughout this period. Further advances in metallurgy, such as the capacity to process iron ore, marked the end of this period. During the Bronze Age, humans produced several technical advancements, including the development of the earliest writing systems and the invention of the wheel.

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The Bronze Age in the UAE

3 Bronze eras

This age is divided into three periods:

• Jebel Hafeet period

This period extends from 3200 B.C. to 2500 B.C. and was named so because of the tombs found in Jebel Hafeet near Al Ain city in the emirate of Abu Dhabi.

• Umm Al Nar period

This period extends from 2500 B.C. to 2000 B.C. It was named so after the discovery of the monuments on Umm al Nar Island in Abu Dhabi in the mid-nineteen fifties.

• Wadi Suq period

This period extends from 2000 B.C. to 1300 B.C. and was named after one of the sites in Wadi Suq, between Al Ain and the Omani coast.

A DRYING CLIMATE

Around 4000 BCE, the climate started drying up. The Indian Ocean monsoon moved south and rainfall decreased significantly. Grasslands only grew for short times in the rainfall, causing people to move out. This had adverse effects on people, as evidence from skeletons shows, like starvation and disease. Although rains were less, people still grew food, as was discovered in Hilli in Al Ain from 3000 BCE. People grew date palms, wheat and barley; gathered wild fruits and nuts; and hunted oryx, gazelles and camels. People in the coast developed effective ways of catching fish.

People also experimented with ways of retrieving fresh water to grow crops and sustain themselves. They dug wells to access water underground, and poured the water into channels that led to fields. Over time, as the climate grew drier and drier, the people developed newer, more efficient ways to collect fresh water.

Umm an nar

The archaeological area of the island of Umm an Nar consists of a settlement site and a cemetery of 50 above ground tombs. These tombs are different in shape and can be classified into three different types: 1- Multi-chamber circular tombs built of dressed stones. 2- Multi-chamber circular tombs built of rough stones. 3- Single chamber tombs built of rough stones.

The Period of Umm a Nar, also a tiny island near Abu Dhabi, spans approximately three quarters of the third millennium BC (2700-2000 BC). In 1959, a Danish team began excavations on the island, with Iraqi and indigenous teams carrying out additional archaeological studies. The name Umm a Nari has been used to characterize the culture of the group that lived during this time period since this earlier work.

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But what made the tombs of Umm An Nar special was that these tombs were used for long periods. Many generations used them. With the bones were buried the people's most treacherous possesions. The objects are really personal. There are brittle pieces of gold jewellery, they used to be worn by people as really highly priced objects. Also many materials made of ivory. The people made sure that it was put on them when they were put into the tomb. One amazing fact about them was that the rich didn't keep these precious materials with them, instead they shared it with the poor. It reminds as a lesson for everyone that in the end all people are equal.

umm an nar Tombs

This impressive prehistoric tomb (15m in diameter) is the largest of its kind known in the UAE and Oman. It is situated at the edge of the fertile palm gardens of Shimal and belongs to the "Umm an-Nar" period (2600-2000 BC) Meaning "Mother of Fire", it has been named after an Abu Dhabi island where the first tombs of this type were excavated by Danish archaeologists in the 1950s. They named it as Umm An Nar Culture. Inside the tombs there were over 300 people's skeleton. These tombs were for the whole community. Normally the tombs were used to bury one family.

Trade

Once there was a single shipment of over 18 tonnes of cooper

Trade

One of the strongest empire Mesopotamia needed to cooper to make weapons and tools and since there was cooper to be found in Mespotamia, people came to Umm An-Nar to trade for it

When Merchants came to trade with the UAE they brought items such as ceramic vessels, ivory combs and decorated beads and these can be found in the Umm An-Nar tombs

Records from Mesopotamia show that are that is now UAE and Oman was called the "Megan society"

Location of umm an-nar

To learn more about the tombs found

Jebel hafeet period 3200-2500

timeline

Umm An-Nar2500-2000 BC

WADI SUQPERIOD 2000- 1300

Boats of the magan

The Magan was a major trading area that acted as a middle man between India and southern iraq. The Magan boat was made from sixty-seven reed bundles, each as thick as a human leg which were bound together with rope made from date palm fibre. The fibre was then lashed together with date palm ropes and formed into the shape of the boat. This frame was then covered with mats made from date palm fronds. These boats were built with reeds and coated with bitumen, as shown by several boat models found in the Royal Cemetery of Ur. The bitumen, a waterproof material indispensable in the construction of ships, came from Mesopotamia, whose main source was located at Hit in central Iraq.

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